This picture was taken from a helicopter back in March 2009 when I was among four or five people who had gone up to have an Ariel look at Bahrain’s then new Khalifa Bin Salman Port.
The skyline looks pretty much the same even now, with just a few more buildings added but the iconic Bahrain Financial Harbour and the Bahrain World Trade Centre, as usual, stand majestically, towering over Manama and, pretty much, over all the country.
Though I was not then, and until now, aware that Bahrain has one of the highest population densities anywhere in the world, this view seems to prove that is true.
The population density is now reportedly nearly 1,000 people per square kilometre and, according to the Infoplease.com website, it is seventh after Monaco, Singapore, Vatican City, Maldives, Malta and Bangladesh.
Also accompanying me was our professional photographer, Jayanchandran, a Bahrain veteran of several memorable shots and dozens of chopper rides, and credited with some of the most beautiful shots I have seen of the country.